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Piemonte (Piedmont) and Langhe

The Kingdom of Sardinia to whom Piemonte belonged was the main actor for unification of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Torino, the former seat of of the royal family of Italy, is uncomparable to any other city in Italy. However, the importance of Piemonte and Torino was not confined to the past.

Torino, the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy, still bears a royal carachter of magnificent buildings and charming squares as traces of past nobility. Royal castles instead make precious the wild nature of Langhe, a fascinating area in the south of Torino. “Andar per Langhe” (“going by the Langhe”) meant for its inhabitants walking on the edges of the hills. Today, travelers still follow the old paths and walkings from one village to another either walking either by bicycle.

Tanaro river is the northern border line of Langhe where some of the most important excellences of Italy are produced. Above all Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto and Dogliani. These are red wines made with Nebbiolo grapes that require long periods of aging in barrels. The origin of the name “Nebbiolo” is due to the Italian word “nebbia”, that is to say the fog that sorrounds the harvesting later in the season compared to other grapes. Piemonte is internationally known also for white wines such as Asti spumante and Moscato d’Asti matching with delicious desserts.

42 DOC and 8 DOCG wines are registered in Piemonte. We will discover together some of the most beautiful and antique wineries where knowledge and family secrets are passed down from a generation to another.

We will taste, when in season, the white truffle of Alba, where the International Fair trade and the International auction of white truffle take place. Piemonte is as well famous for the chocolate such as Gianduja, but also Nutella!, for cheese, such as Taleggio and Bra DOP, for hazelnuts an IGP in the Langhe. Just to name some of the hundreds of prestigious delicatessen of the region. Richness of Piemonte just has to be discovered.

Umbria

Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy, both for its flourishing nature and its geographical location, right in the centre of Italy, between Toscana and Le Marche. Its peaceful greenish hills, recalls us spirituality of San Francesco life devoted to faith and spent in the nature walking through Assisi and Gubbio. By traveling throughout Umbria, you will be surrounded by never ending and harmonious shades of green, from natural parks, to forests and olive trees.At first impression, Umbria history shows a sharp dualism given by the Tevere river acting as a natural border line between west where Etruscans lived and the east populated firstly by “Umbri” and later by the Romans. That dualism is still alive nowadays in the two provinces composing Umbria, Perugia, the capital and Terni. Some of the most important Roman roads crossed Umbria, namely via Salaria (“the Salt Road”) and via Flaminia leading from Rome to Le Marche. That gives an idea of the geographical importance of the region.Because of its impervious rocky land set on the Appennins, Umbria was considered an inaccessible territory. Hard to be conquered by foreign populations and hard to be explored. However, as most of our drawbacks turn into an advantage, Umbria retains a strong feeling of past traditions and culture. “Norcini”, the old butchers from Norcia, unused cereals like spelt and barley and indigenous wines like Sagrantino and Montefalco are symbols of a lost world kept alive by its passionate inhabitants.Excellence in Umbria is supported by every small town which has its own main speciality. Salumi and truffle from Norcia, olive oil from Trevi, lentils from Castelluccio, chocolate in Perugia, wines from Montefalco, jazz music in Spoleto, Giotto paintings in Assisi. An entire week to discover it would not be enough.

The Wines of Emilia Romagna

“Et però credo che molta felicità sia agli homini che nascono dove si trovano vini buoni” (Leonardo da Vinci)“But I believe that there is a lot of happiness for those who were born where good wines are” (Leonardo Da Vinci)Romans might have said “prosit!” (“might it be useful and healthy”). Nowadays, you could listen to Italians saying “alla tua salute!” (“for your health!”). It is all about wine, but not only. An open bottle might reveal centuries of history. These are just words expressing conviviality and enjoyment of a glass of wine either at a wedding lunch or on an ordinary day. Wine embodies an Italian tradition to celebrate life and sociality, regardless of the importance of the event.The significance of Emilia-Romagna wines is shown by its productivity: 21 wines D.O.P. (protected designation of origin) and 9 wines I.G.P. (protected geographical indication). Emilia Romagna wine production represents an example of sustainable development. Local, indigenous and poorly marketed wines are confined to regional and, more frequently, provincial borders and use. Reasons of an enormous regional productivity are due to favourable climatic conditions and to the poor quality of drinkable water in the Pianura Padana resulting in an increased wine consumption. Nature seems to create a self sufficient and autarchic land where every single part matches perfectly. Diversity and quality are main characteristics of Emilia Romagna wines which are perfect associations for regional products they are served with. Variety covers almost every kind of thinkable wine, from red to white wine, from sparkling to still, from dry to dessert wines.Lambrusco, red sparkling wine, is probably the most famous and most exported wine of Emilia Romagna. The area of production is Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma. The sweet variety of red grapes, commonly known as “amabile” (smooth) is more famous compared to the dry variety. Despite its minor celebrity, the latter is of greater value when served cool with strongly flavoured dried meat like salame di Felino, Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello and seasoned cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano. Its accurate and precise way of bottling requires a lot of care in its preservation and makes it hard to export it. In the last years Lambrusco has been enhancedGrapes of Sangiovese grow mainly in the provinces of Bologna and Romagna. The history of the name of Sangiovese dates back to the times of a monaster, on Monte Giove, where it was produced a dark red wine. So darkly coloured to resemble the blood of Giove (“sangue di Giove”). It is considered to be the most important wine of Emilia Romagna and it perfectly matches with rough and inviting dishes. It embodies the spirit of inhabitants of Romagna, red and passionate, resolute and calm as a man of work.What makes Albana a special wine is a very limited area production and a rich variety raging from still white wine to sparkling spumante and to sweet wine (either known as “passito”) . The legend tells that an ancient queen , after having admired the golden colour and charming taste of Albana, was so impressed to exclaim that the wine should be drunk in gold (“da berti in oro”). This faboulous wine therefore explains the origins of the name of the village of Romagna, Bertinoro. The dry version of Albana has a delicate and refrigerating taste differing from other wines of Emilia Romagna. Its modest production and aristocratic flavours, it embodies the noble spirit of inhabitants of Romagna. “Albana Passita” is a remarkable wine tasting of liqueur. The way grapes are harvested, some time after the ordinary season, gives it a peculiar taste. A longer exposition to the sun increasing sugar and alcoholic percentage of grapes gives it a thick and robust golden colour. The result is a fortified wine very much appreciated with flavoured cakes and desserts. Two people in the same place, at the same time, is already an important event to share a bottle of wine with a few words on politics, life or other unthinkable stories.Discovering Emilia Romagna and discovering its wines, means understanding part of its identity.

DOP Wines:

Albana di Romagna

Bosco Eliceo

Cagnina di Romagna

Colli Bolognesi

Colli Bolognesi Classico Pignoletto

Colli di Faenza

Colli d’Imola

Colli di Parma

Colli di Rimini

Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa

Colli Piacentini

Colli di Romagna centrale

Lambrusco di Sorbara

Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro

Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce

Modena

Pagadebit di Romagna

Reggiano

Reno

Romagna Albana spumante

Sangiovese di Romagna

IGP Wines

Bianco di Castelfranco Emilia

Emilia

Forli’

Fontana del Taro

Ravenna

Rubicone

Sillaro e Bianco del Sillaro

Terre di Veleja

Val Tidone

Umbilichi Sacri (Sacred Navels) better known as Tortellini

Tradition and literature quotes tell that tortellini history dates back to the days when Bologna was founded. Every single tortellino contains divine and earthly traces. The legend says that Venus passed by Bologna and stopped here for a night. A man impressed by the beauty of the Venus shaped a tortellino inspired by her navel.Tortellini therefore were evolving from a primitive shape to the navel one.

Variations and slight diversities in shapes -little hats or Venus’s navel-, filling -meat, cheese or pumpkin- and names -tortellini, cappelletti or anolini- differs over the towns of Emilia Romagna even in a space of a few miles.

Tortellini put together two of the main excellences of regional and Italian gastronomy. That is to say, hand made pasta and broth. “Sfoglia” is certainly the main speciality of Emilia Romagna. On the other hand, the first recipe on the list of the world-renowned cookbook of Pellegrino Artusi is broth. Not by chance, of course. For several centuries, broth has been the most important dish of the region for its curative and nourishing capacities.

Story tellers may explain the origin of the name or the ingredients of first tortellini. However, they won’t be able to explain that inborn regional feeling to celebrate a special occasion like Christmas or New Year’s Eve with a dish of smoking tortellini.